Only Lovers Left Alive [2014] ★★

Jim Jarmusch (“Mystery Train”, “Dead Man”) is a smart filmmaker, and his new movie is so original, that I wish I liked it more. I was fascinated by its premise at first, about two vampires (Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton) who’s been in love for centuries. For reasons unexplained, they now live in different parts of the world. He is isolated in an apartment in Detroit, while she lives in Tangier. Still with me? Good cause at some point you may well ask: and then what happens? The answer is “nothing much” or perhaps “nothing you can’t see coming a mile away”. For some (mainly Jarmusch devotees), this is a sign of an artistic film. But unlike those devotees, I became impatient. I knew exactly where the story was headed, yet Jarmusch and his talented actors lingered on every point, long after emptying their bag of tricks. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for art house films and slow, character-driven storylines. But I just couldn’t care less about any of the characters in “Only Lovers Left Alive”. I admire and respect the filmmaker’s intention, but I’m sorry to say I grew tired of his movie.

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The ambiance and story background are stunning… the colors, images, characters and the actors are amazing as well… The idea of a thousands century love, the depressed artist-husband, the distance… I feel sorry that such resources are wasted on an empty story… The review said all I wanted to say. True. Plus, it’s very slow, full of unnecessary boring scenes elaborating on meaningless points, while some things that need elaboration and explication go unexplained. There is also no focus on emotions, or the progress of emotions. Someone would kill, die, kiss, make love…but these scenes come very slowly and they end quickly without giving them their time and the right building up in the scenes before them…so you just don’t get in the mood and you lose your concentration. We were even talking and laughing when someone died!! It’s not the actors’ fault…they gave the feeling, but it’s the abrupt distortion in the story line. No suspense, no attracting elements in the story… at some point you just want the movie to end.